Cheltenham Festivals launch new Membership scheme
Everything you need to know about the upcoming Membership changes
At Cheltenham Festivals we're working towards creating a world where everyone can explore and create culture. Our Festival supporters and Members are vital in helping us do just that. In order for us to continue to work towards this, our Membership scheme is changing. The current Gold, Silver and Bronze scheme will be replaced by Inspired, Connected and Curious along with a new Membership type: Joyful.
The Membership scheme has been updated to align with our charitable mission which is to co-create experiences which bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities and inspire change and the naming of each Membership levels reflects this.
These changes are now in place and all of our current Members have already been informed. You can find out more about the new scheme and what it entails below:
What are the benefits of becoming a Cheltenham Festivals Member?
By becoming a Cheltenham Festivals Member, you play an active role in our mission to create experiences that bring joy, spark, curiosity, connect communities, and inspire change.
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Your Membership is a direct investment in Cheltenham Festivals’ vision of a world in which everyone can explore and create culture and helps us to keep at least 25% of our events free.
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Your Membership directly supports our learning and participation programmes involving 35,000 children and young people and 500 schools every year, as well as our work with the local community.
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Your Membership is considered a donation and will be eligible for Gift Aid, as a result we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give at no extra cost to yourself.
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With a Cheltenham Festivals Membership, you get priority booking to our inspiring Jazz, Science, Music and Literature Festivals.
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Members are one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news and receive Festival brochures, posted directly to their homes.*
The main change to our Membership scheme is an increase in price and a change to benefits. We’ve not increased the price of our Membership scheme in seven years and with the significant increase in production costs combined with the ongoing impact of the pandemic on our income streams, we have had to take the decisions to increase our Membership prices. For the same reasons we have also removed ticket discounts for Members.
However, we’re pleased to have reintroduced the posting of printed brochures to all Members free of charge (non-Members will now pay to have a brochure posted to them) and have made it cheaper if you pay by Direct Debit.
We have tried to keep our Membership scheme as inclusive as possible, including introducing a new Membership type, Joyful, for single ticket bookers, as well as opening up our free 16-25 Membership to 18-30.
There are also two different price points for each Membership level:
- Direct Debit Membership (starting from £15)
- One-off payment Membership (starting from £17.50)
Including our new Joyful Membership, there are now five Membership types; Inspired, Connected, Curious, Joyful and Spark (18-30) and you can find out more about each level below.
Inspired
This level replaces our Gold Membership.
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Priority booking (a week before general on sale)
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Buy up to six tickets per event during priority booking
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Four Festival brochures posted direct to you*
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Be one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news - including sneak peek line-ups and Festival announcements*
£90 Direct Debit or £105 one off payment for Membership.
Connected
This level replaces our Silver Membership.
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Priority booking (a week before general on sale)
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Buy up to four tickets per event during priority booking
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Four Festival brochures posted direct to you*
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Be one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news - including sneak peek line-ups and Festival announcements*
£60 Direct Debit or £70 one off payment for Membership.
Curious
This level replaces our Bronze Membership.
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Priority booking (a week before general on sale)
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Buy up to two tickets per event during priority booking
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Four Festival brochures posted direct to you*
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Be one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news - including sneak peek line-ups and Festival announcements*
£30 Direct Debit or £35 one off payment for Membership.
Joyful
This Membership type is a new additional level.
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Priority booking (a week before general on sale)
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Buy up to one ticket per event during priority booking
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Four Festival brochures posted direct to you*
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Be one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news - including sneak peek line-ups and Festival announcements*
£15 Direct Debit or £17.50 one off payment for Membership.
Spark (18-30)
This level is free and replaces our 16-25** Membership.
- Priority booking (around a week before general on sale)
- Buy up to two tickets per event during priority booking
- Exclusive 18-30 discounts
- Four Festival brochures posted direct to you*
- Be one of the first to hear about Cheltenham Festival news - including first look at VOICEBOX line-ups and Festival announcements*
If you're a current Member and purchased with a one-off payment, your current Membership type and all of its benefits will stay active until it expires one year after it was purchased. Then, when you come to renew your Membership, you'll need to choose one of the new Membership types.
If you pay for your Membership by Direct Debit, we will be in contact in the New Year with more information on the next steps.
Please do get in touch with us via email if you have any questions about the new scheme. And thank you again for supporting Cheltenham Festivals and helping us to create a world where everyone can explore and create culture.
*We can only send brochures and news to those with valid contact information and with permission to receive marketing information by email and post.
**If you’re ages 16 or 17 and are currently a 16-25 Member we will honour your Membership until you turn 18.
